Victoria achieves record FY results despite Covid-19 impacts

Victoria expects full-year revenues to be in excess of £640.0m, subject to finalisation of its accounts and audit, up from £621.5m in the prior year, despite the impact of the April-May 2020 lockdowns, which saw revenues drop over £50.0m in those two months. Underlying earnings were pegged to be in excess of £120.0m, a slight improvement on the previous year's figure of £118.1m.

The AIM-listed group pointed out that the 2021 trading year was one in which it completed no major acquisitions, meaning the record trading results were driven by organic performance, with the firm capitalising on strong consumer demand by restarting manufacturing and logistics operations as soon as lawfully permitted - ahead of competitors - resulting in a post-lockdown double-digit growth in revenues.

Looking forward, Victoria stated the trading outlook for the current 2022 financial year was "very encouraging" in terms of both revenue and margins, with the firm continuing to experience "strong, ongoing consumer demand" across its key markets.

"Furthermore, housing transactions, a key 12-18 month leading indicator of flooring sales, are at very high levels - not only in the UK, but across our markets (more than 70% of the group's earnings are now generated from outside the UK), which suggests demand will be maintained for some period," said Victoria.

"However, it clearly remains difficult to forecast accurately given the ongoing impact of, and uncertainty caused by, government actions in response to Covid-19 and therefore we will continue to keep reinstatement of formal earnings guidance under review and will comment further as soon as we feel it is prudent to do so," it added.

As of 0915 BST, Victoria shares were up 2.39% at 901.0p.